Jeudi 21 fevrier
Everyday life is full of useful magnets, solids, oxides, metals and
alloys. On the contrary, molecules are most often considered as
non-magnetic materials. However, recent discoveries show that
molecules can bear large magnetic moments that can have a stable
orientation like traditional magnets. They have therefore been called
single-molecule magnets and they might be the ultimate limit for
information storage. They do not only exhibit the classical
macroscale property of a magnet, but also new quantum properties such
as quantum tunnelling of magnetization and quantum phase
interference, the properties of a microscale entity. Such quantum
phenomena are advantageous for some challenging applications, e.g.
molecular information storage or quantum computing. In order to
explore these possibilities, we are building new and very precise
setups, developing new methods and strategies, and studying the best
candidate systems, together with our colleagues physicists, chemists
and engineers.
This presentation will also address the field of Molecular
Electronics and Spintronics, which are both rapidly emerging fields
of Nanoelectronics with a strong potential impact for the realization
of new functions and devices helpful for information storage as well
as quantum information. Our project aims at the merging of the two
fields by the realization of molecular junctions that involves
magnetic molecules. In order to tackle the challenge of controlled
connection at the single molecule level, we design a process of
molecular self assembly on nanojunctions obtained by the technique of
electromigration. Futhermore, we are developing new micro-SQUIDs with
carbon nanotube Josephson junctions, which should be sensitive enough
to study individual magnetic molecules that are attached to the
carbon nanotube (CNT).
RECRUTEMENT ACCES DIRECT
Le département de physique
Fête de la Science 2018 